1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,560
Speaker 1: So the government's just announced what they're calling the biggest

2
00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,320
Speaker 1: change to road funding in fifty years. Once these changes

3
00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: cack in, and we don't know when that is just yend,

4
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,520
Speaker 1: but once they kick in, petrol taxes are out and

5
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,640
Speaker 1: rucks road user charges are in. And this is for everyone, right,

6
00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,720
Speaker 1: It's not just the truckies and the EV drivers and

7
00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,880
Speaker 1: the diesel uses. Every single one of us is going

8
00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,239
Speaker 1: to have to pay the rucks. Not really a surprise

9
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,200
Speaker 1: that this is happening, because the government flagged this a

10
00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:24,920
Speaker 1: couple of years ago at least, but the work is

11
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,520
Speaker 1: now starting. Cabinet has now agreed to start changing the

12
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,040
Speaker 1: law on it. Generally, I think this is a good idea.

13
00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:31,479
Speaker 1: I mean, I think this is going to make the

14
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,959
Speaker 1: whole system a lot more transparent because most of us

15
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,760
Speaker 1: have no idea when we fill up at the petrol

16
00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,919
Speaker 1: station how much we're paying to use the road. It's

17
00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,400
Speaker 1: hidden in the petrol cost, isn't it. But once it's

18
00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,280
Speaker 1: stripped out, it's going to smack us in the face

19
00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,239
Speaker 1: every month or however often we pay that bill and

20
00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,320
Speaker 1: we can make a decision based on that. It's actually

21
00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:49,760
Speaker 1: quite a lot of money that you're paying to use

22
00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,879
Speaker 1: the road tax makes up almost half the cost of petrol.

23
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,480
Speaker 1: So once you get that bill, you can decide if

24
00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:56,840
Speaker 1: you want to drive a little bit less, drive a

25
00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:58,960
Speaker 1: little bit more, whatever you want to do, it's going

26
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,600
Speaker 1: to also if does i'n probably change our behavior for

27
00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,240
Speaker 1: the better when it comes to choosing our cars, because

28
00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,399
Speaker 1: heavier cars should end up being charged more, as they

29
00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,959
Speaker 1: should because they do a lot more damage to the roads.

30
00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,120
Speaker 1: For example, electric vehicles are enormously heavy and will be

31
00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,039
Speaker 1: pot hooling the road a lot more than your lighter

32
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,360
Speaker 1: Suzuki Swift. That should if we respond rationally to pricing,

33
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,880
Speaker 1: make us move towards lighter vehicles and away from this

34
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,399
Speaker 1: trend of bigger is better all the time, which is,

35
00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,319
Speaker 1: as I say, better for road maintenance. But and here's

36
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,160
Speaker 1: the butt everything here I think hangs off on the

37
00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,479
Speaker 1: enforcement because this is ripe for gaming. The very same

38
00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,640
Speaker 1: people who do not get a WAFF, who do not

39
00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:37,959
Speaker 1: get a red Joe now will not get their rucks.

40
00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,720
Speaker 1: Am I imagining it? Or was it not also the

41
00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:42,600
Speaker 1: case that the EV drivers, when they were made to

42
00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:44,200
Speaker 1: get rucks, a whole bunch of them didn't even bother

43
00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:45,840
Speaker 1: getting rucks for a whole lot there. So if you've

44
00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,760
Speaker 1: got wealthy EV drivers who are happy to go around

45
00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:50,920
Speaker 1: pretending to have a ruck when they own actually or

46
00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,360
Speaker 1: what about the rest of us. If you're going from

47
00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,720
Speaker 1: a really simple system where you just basically get it

48
00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:58,560
Speaker 1: taken out of what you're paying at the pump, to

49
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,840
Speaker 1: a more complex counter case and file the paperwork system,

50
00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,880
Speaker 1: how are you going to be sure that absolutely everybody

51
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:05,600
Speaker 1: is doing what they're supposed to do so in an

52
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,680
Speaker 1: announcement light on detail, very light on detail, that is

53
00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,960
Speaker 1: the question I have, but in theory, very good idea.

54
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,160
Speaker 1: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to

55
00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,280
Speaker 1: news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow

56
00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,040
Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio.